Support: Frequently Asked Questions
- Is it secure?
- Can I practice using NetLegal?
- Who can see the information on the case?
- If I register does it mean I automatically accept all documents served on me?
- What if the lawyer I am serving is not registered on NetLegal?
- What if the fax has to be served after business hours?
- Does the judge have to be part of the case on NetLegal?
- What if I am away on vacation?
- What do I pay to use NetLegal?
- How do I pay to use NetLegal?
- Can I track disbursements?
- Who manages our firm account?
- How are new users added to our firm account?
- Can I find contact information for other NetLegal users?
- Do I have to be logged into NetLegal to receive notifications?
- Can I electronically file my documents with the court?
- I am a judge – can I set up the case myself?
- How much does it cost for a court or tribunal to set up e-filing?
- I am a law school student and would like to use NetLegal. Can I?
- Can I find articling or student positions on NetLegalStudents?
- Who can post articling and student positions?
1. Is it secure?
Yes. NetLegal is committed to keeping your information confidential and secure. Our website utilizes the same industry standard SSL technologies (128 Bit encryption) as most banks, thus providing a secure encrypted connection from your browser to our service. Once you register with NetLegal, credentials are then provided to you to login to the site.
2. Can I practice using NetLegal?
Yes. You can use the same user id and password to login to the NetLegal training environment where you can practice serving other members of your firm at no charge.
3. Who can see the information on the case?
NetLegal creates a secure case repository by only allowing users who are invited to the case to view any documents. Users can be invited directly with an electronic invite or indirectly through fax service. Users who are not invited can find the case on the Search page and send a join request – the user who initiated the case on NetLegal can then decide whether to accept the request.
4. If I register does it mean I automatically accept all documents served on me?
No. NetLegal’s electronic service is a form of consensual service that still allows the user to accept or reject the document. After being notified by email that there is a document awaiting service on them, the user can then login to NetLegal and choose whether to accept or reject service of the document. Pursuant to the NetLegal User Agreement, a user who accepts service in this way legally consents to receiving service of that document.
5. What if the lawyer I am serving is not registered on NetLegal?
No problem. You simply enter the lawyer’s name, their firm name and fax number and NetLegal will effect service by fax. The fax cover sheet also contains a unique URL that invites the lawyer being served to join the case on behalf of that party.
6. What if the fax has to be served after business hours?
You can tell NetLegal to defer faxing of documents until after the close of business.
7. Does the judge have to be part of the case on NetLegal?
No. NetLegal’s NetService allows the filing user to automatically generate the proof of service/affidavit of service for manually filing the document after it is served.
8. What if I am away on vacation?
You can assign other NetLegal users (including paralegals and support staff) to be user delegates for all cases or specific cases so that they receive notifications on your behalf and can act for you based on the rights assigned to them.
9. What do I pay to use NetLegal?
It is free to register for NetLegal. You only pay for documents that are successfully served or filed.
10. How do I pay to use NetLegal?
A law firm can create one or more accounts. Once approved, law firms can be invoiced on a monthly basis. Law firms can also receive a $1 discount off every transaction if they set up a prepaid account that is automatically replenished on a weekly basis.
11. Can I track disbursements?
Yes. You can assign your own internal file number to each of your cases on NetLegal. You can then run a report that will show the disbursements for each internal file based on your own rates that are set by the firm’s power user.
12. Who manages our firm account?
Each firm has a power user who can manage the accounts including the addition of new users. Power users can be assigned specifically to each account or each location under an account.
13. How are new users added to our firm account?
When a user registers on NetLegal they may request to join a firm that has already been registered. If they do, a power user at the firm will be notified and they can then determine if this user should be added to their account. Until the user is approved they cannot incur any charges against a firm’s account.
14. Can I find contact information for other NetLegal users?
Yes. In addition to automatically grouping all NetLegal users by case on the MyContacts screen, you can also search for and add other NetLegal users who can then be grouped by firm, jurisdiction, area of practice, etc.
15. Do I have to be logged into NetLegal to receive notifications?
No. NetLegal notifications will be sent to you via email and will also be available when you login to NetLegal.
16. Can I electronically file my documents with the court?
Yes you can. Simply invite the judge to join the case and they can elect to allow documents to be e-filed automatically on them. The Judge can choose a sample order that allows users to e-file only or to follow the e-filing in a set number of days with a paper “courtesy copy”.
17. I am a judge – can I set up the case myself?
Yes you can. As a court user, you can invite the parties to join the case and if they are not already users of NetLegal, then NetLegal will invite them to join. You also tell NetLegal who in the Registry will be reviewing the document so that they can then be invited – this user will be notified of any documents being e-filed and review the e-filing to determine if it should be accepted or rejected. You then choose a sample order to e-file only or to follow the e-filing in the number of days you set with a paper “courtesy copy”. You can also have a power user at the court set up the financial account information so that NetLegal can deposit filing fees directly into the court’s account.
18. How much does it cost for a court or tribunal to set up e-filing?
Nothing. There is no cost to the court to set up e-filing on a case by case basis.
19. I am a law school student and would like to use NetLegal. Can I?
Yes. You can register to join NetLegalStudents for free and use NetLegal to serve other user from your law school at no charge. You can also add other students to your MyContacts list and search for articling and student positions on NetLegalJobs. Click here for more information on NetLegalStudents.
20. Can I find articling or student positions on NetLegalStudents?
Yes you can. The NetLegalJobs tab allows students to search for positions by city, province, area of practice, etc. They can tag postings as favourites and set up alerts so that they are notified of new postings meeting their criteria.
21. Who can post articling and student positions?
The power user of any law firm can post articling and student positions for free in the Profile section of NetLegal. These postings are immediately available on NetLegalStudents and show up in any alerts already set up by students users.